


Looking Like That

by alphatoothless



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-28 23:19:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8466817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphatoothless/pseuds/alphatoothless
Summary: It'd been several years since the Pines twins survived that fateful summer in Gravity Falls. It was almost a distant memory, until Bill starts showing up in Dipper's dreams. He'd returned for one thing, and one thing only. Dipper Pines.





	1. He's back!

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! So this will be my first ever Gravity Falls fic, as well as my first fic in a good while! So please forgive me for being a little rusty, but I sure do hope you enjoy this! I do plan on making this a few chapters long, but nothing too crazy long. Also, this won't have any smut in it, just as a forewarning. Though lots of flirting (more on Bill's part)! Overall, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and like I said, more to come!

Dipper sighed as he shut his textbook, reserving himself to look out his window. It’d been quite a few years since that fateful summer and he had to admit, he missed Gravity Falls a lot. Wendy’s hat rested comfortably on his bed frame and a small “family” photo of Mabel, Soos, Wendy, his uncles and him sat on his desk next to his textbook. Dipper looked down to see Mabel running on the lawn, grinning as Waddles bolted up to her for a hug. Although they wanted to return to Gravity Falls to see their friends again, life and school often got in the way of any form of planning they attempted to return to that fateful place. It was almost washed away in the busyness of growing up and high school.

That was until recently, when Dipper had started to see things in his dreams. Particularly of Bill, which disturbed him the most. It almost seemed real the way Bill would approach him, and in the form of a human. It was the first time Bill had approached him in his dreams, and it was strangely friendly yet eerie all the same. 

\--

“Pine-tree, you sure have shot up.” Bill crossed his arms and would stare at Dipper with a smug grin. He was a little taller than Dipper, with golden hair and dressed in formal wear, bearing his usual little black top hat as he leaned on a black cane. A small eye patch covered one of his eyes and Dipper felt the sudden need to run. 

“Why are you in my dream”, Dippers eyes narrowed, “and why are you a human?”

“Well, that’s no way to greet an old friend!” Bill leaned in closer, inches from Dipper’s face, “But if you’re really curious, I just decided to pay you a little visit.”

Dipper gulped and took a step back, feeling a sudden jump of his heart. Fear was mixed with curiosity. Bill is dead. He was defeated…there’s no way he could be here. Was this just a form of PTSD or his brain trying to make sense of his past?

“Neither, kid.” Bill rolled his eye, still grinning. His amusement just seemed to grow the longer the interaction continued. His attention then turned to Dipper’s arm. 

“What’s this then?” And suddenly Dipper’s arm was being lifted with a grip of Bill’s hand, his hoodie sleeve being pushed up by Bill’s other hand to reveal his newer tattoos of the book’s markings as well as of Bill; the taller man’s smile grew even more. “Wow, kid, I’m flattered. And here I thought you’d forgotten all about me. Guess you still think about me, huh?” Dipper ripped his arm away, his face feeling hot as Bill chuckled deeply. 

\--

And just like that, the dream had ended with the sound of his alarm jolting him awake. He’d told Mabel about it, and she seemed to frown but insisted it was probably just his imagination. She did say he’d been mulling over a lot of books and talking about Gravity Falls a lot, and perhaps that’s what had triggered the dream. He just shrugged, allowing it to be the reason. It had been a few days since the dream, so he’d allowed the dream to slip into the back of his mind temporarily. 

“Dipper, Dipper, Waddles just said I love you!” Mabel busted through his doorway, holding the plump pig happily. Dipper swiveled in his chair, and at the sight couldn’t help but start laughing, seeing Waddle’s fat folding over Mabel’s hands and his face puckered in his usual piggy grin. Although their parents weren’t too happy with Mabel returning with a pig as a pet, they soon grew to love the small mammal, and Mabel had insisted they were soulmates. Who could ever say no to Mabel’s pout, anyway? 

Mabel carefully placed Waddles onto the floor, skipping over to Dipper’s desk and made a face at his textbook. 

“Dipper, your nose is always in a boring book. You should come with me to the mall! I need to buy a costume for Waddles!” 

“Costume?” Dipper’s eyebrows furrowed.

“For the Halloween party, tonight? Don’t tell me you forgot again!” Mabel grabbed Dipper’s arm and forced him out of the chair. The back of Dipper’s mind silently hinted at the same movement that Bill had used on him earlier. He quickly waved the thought past. Mabel then forced him out of his room, pushing him down the stairs and into the garage. She whipped out her car keys and Dipper groaned as he opened the passenger seat.

“Why do you always get to drive?”

“Mmm…because then I can choose the music!” Mabel stuck her tongue out playfully as she turned the radio onto some random boy band station. Dipper slammed his head onto the dashboard. Bill’s feint laughter was suddenly in the background, and Dipper shot up, glancing around. Mabel raised an eyebrow, watching Dipper whip around in the passenger seat.

“Dipper, are you okay?” She rested the back of her hand on his forehead, concern beginning to rise. 

“Uhh, yeah. Yeah, sorry I thought I heard something.” 

“This isn’t about Bill again, is it?” Mabel frowned.

Dipper nibbled his lip a little as he looked out his window, worry beginning to cross his features.

“Dipper, Bill is dead. He’s been dead for years now. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Mabel rested her hand on his shoulder, attempting to reassure her brother. She’d noticed his uneasiness ever since he’d mentioned seeing the human-form of Bill in his dream. 

“I know, Mabel. But…I hear him. Like he’s still here, somehow.” Dipper sighed, resting his cheek on his hand as he leaned on the car door. 

“Well, we’ll get him off your mind. We can just focus on the party tonight!” Mabel smiled as she patted his shoulder.

The car started and soon they were off, but Dipper still had a strange feeling about the whole situation. Though, Mabel was right. Bill was dead. He knew this, even when he thought of the triangle…or human now? It didn’t matter anymore. Dipper got out of the car when they finally arrived to the mall, listening to Mabel go on about how excited she was for the party. They walked around the mall, picking up different parts of their little Halloween costume project. Of course, they were two halves of one costume, with an included Waddles as a mini version of their costume. As Mable went into talking about a new boy crush she was having, Dipper sensed something behind him. He slowly glanced behind him to see Bill leaning on the railing, blinking his one eye in what Dipper understood was a wink, and he slowly turned back to Mabel. 

“I’ll be right back, Mabel. I’m gonna go buy a…uh…pretzel.” 

“Bring me back a sprinkle milkshake!” Mabel smiled as Dipper hesitantly laughed and backed out of the store.

He quickly made his way down the hall, hearing the tapping of Bill’s footsteps right behind him with every step. He finally rounded a less crowded corner and whipped around quickly to see Bill stop quickly, hand on his hip and smirking.

“What, kid? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Laughter laced Bill’s tone as he leaned against the wall.

“What are you doing here, Bill? You’re dead! I shouldn’t be seeing you!” Dipper almost yelled, anger taking over his features.

“Some harsh words, seeing as I’m standing right in front of ya.” His smirk didn’t even fade.  
Dipper then raised his arm, poking Bill square in the chest. He wasn’t lying, that was pure flesh and bone. Bill grabbed Dipper’s hand then, pulling him closer and smirking wider.

“See, kid? I’m the real deal.” 

“G-Get off me!” Dipper wrenched his hand away, taking a step back as Bill stood up again, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. 

“This doesn’t make any sense. How are you here? And how are you in a body?” Dipper felt his voice threaten to crack from fear.  
“Well, it goes along the same way your uncle got his memory back. ‘xcept I came back a little differently, and it’s taking a lot longer to regenerate. Unfortunately, my powers aren’t nearly as mighty as they used to be, so I had to change into a weaker form to allow myself to fully recover.” Bill watched Dipper narrow his eyes carefully.

It didn’t make any sense. Bill wasn’t in the dreamscape entirely anymore. He was literally standing in front of him right now. Flesh and bone. And to top it off, he had enough power to switch between both worlds and also track his location? Yet he hadn’t once tried to kill Mabel or him. It just wasn’t adding up. Maybe Dipper was hallucinating? Maybe he was finally going crazy? It just didn’t make sense!

“Why’re you here, then? What’re you planning, Bill?”

“Woah, woah, kid, I’m all about reunions but that’s a lot of information to just willingly spare.” Bill raised his hands, chuckling. 

Angrily sighing, Dipper turned and started walking away. Bill followed quickly beside him, hands held behind his back as he watched Dipper get angrier.

“Then answer me this then, why are you following me?” Dipper snapped.

“Like I said before, pine-tree, I’m just paying you a friendly little visit. Catch up, see how you’re doing and all that.” 

“I definitely think I’m just hallucinating.” Dipper grumbled under his breath, continuing to march forward.

Suddenly Bill grabbed his arm, jolting him back and right into Bill’s chest. Bill grabbed his arms and forced him onto the wall, grinning as Dipper gasped, his heart pounding hard. Bill leaned in, keeping eye contact with Dipper as he stopped only centimeters away from his face.

“I’m no hallucination, kid. I can promise you that.” 

They stared at each other for a moment, eye contact remaining unbroken as Dipper’s face slowly turned completely red. Bill’s grip remained steady on Dipper’s arms as time almost slowed with Dipper realizing his head was racing. What was happening to him right now? Suddenly his senses came back and he shoved Bill off, watching the taller man stumble slightly backwards but still smiling smugly. Dipper patted down his arms, internally wiping off remnants of Bill on him. 

“Dipper, there you are!” 

Dipper snapped around to see Mabel run toward him with a worried look. 

“Mabel!” Dipper panicked, looking behind to see he was alone. That bastard.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Why’re you back here, alone?” She was frowning, and Dipper felt guilty. He’d been worrying her a lot, lately. 

“Sorry! I got a little sidetracked I guess!” Dipper laughed quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Dipper, are you sure you’re okay? Did you see…Bill?” Mabel glanced around the small hallway behind Dipper.

“What? Oh, no, I just got distracted is all! Don’t worry about me, Mabel.” Dipper smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they started back toward the crowded part of the mall. He glanced back to see Bill standing in the distance, leaning against his cane with his one eye glowing yellow in the darkness. He gulped, shivers shooting down his spine as he turned back to Mabel.

Bill Cipher was definitely back.


	2. Claim

The party was loud; Dipper could just tell from standing on the lawn. Mable was still in the car, doing some finishing touches on Waddles’ costume as Dipper stood awkwardly waiting. After several moments, Mabel finally emerged from the car, hugging Waddles to her chest as she locked the car. She leaned down and let Waddles free as he started happily snorting in his vampire costume. She gave Dipper a signature smile, grabbing his hand and bouncing to the front door.

“Don’t worry, Dipper! This is gonna be our next big adventure!” Mabel rang the doorbell as Dipper started readjusting his suit collar. Mabel thought it would be funny to have them all dress as vampires, fueling her age-old obsession with vampires continued into their adulthood. The door opened with a teenager smiling and nodding for them to enter. Dipper gulped as he followed Mabel into the house, feeling anxiety grow as he saw the large amounts of teenagers talking and running rampant around the living room. Mabel’s eyes sparkled as she caught sight of a boy in the kitchen, quickly skipping away with Waddles in tow. 

“Mabel, wait!” Dipper tried to grab Mabel but was a second too late. He sighed and started walking around the house in search of a quiet area. He ended up walking upstairs, sighing in relief when he found what looked like a bedroom. He shut the door behind him carefully as he closed his eyes, sinking to the floor.

“You got some nice fangs there, kid. You wanna see the real deal though?” 

Dipper’s eyes snapped open and just as he had expected, Bill Cipher stood in front of him, cane in hand and adorning his usual mischievous smirk. Dipper jumped up, quickly turning around to try the door. With the sound of a finger snap, the door suddenly locked, and Dipper was forced to turn around by an invisible force.

“Sheesh kid, why do you always try to run from me?” Bill rolled his eye as he advanced toward the shorter boy. 

“What do you want with me, Bill?” Dipper finally snapped, glaring at the taller man. 

Bill raised an eyebrow, examining Dipper as he began walking circles around the boy. He stopped behind Dipper, just out of his line of sight, and just stood there for a moment. Dipper tried to whip around but the force continued to hold him still. Panic began to bubble in his chest as Bill stayed behind him, just staring at his back. 

“Well, kid, I came to claim something of interest.” 

The invisible force suddenly let go of Dipper then, and he whirled around to see Bill leaned close to his face. Dipper realized the close proximity immediately, suddenly forcing himself back and stumbling down. He groaned for a moment, then looked at Bill quizzically. 

“Claim something? What are you talking about?”   
“Well, Pine-Tree, I came back to this dimension because you’re intriguing. Nothing I’ve ever dealt with in all the dimensions I’ve ruled. You’re different, an anomaly. You’ve defeated me in the past as well, something that’s never happened. I find that…truly fascinating.” Bill raised an eyebrow, smirking as Dipper blushed slightly, avoiding eye contact with the demon. 

“So I decided to claim what should be mine.” Bill smirked as he walked closer, squatting in front of Dipper with a side smirk. Dipper turned blushed as Bill leaned in closer, gulping hard. 

“M-Me?” Dipper’s heart was pounding in his chest. He could hear his pulse in his ears and his face felt hot. He watched Bill lean in closer, and suddenly he could see the fangs of Bill’s mouth. He glanced up to meet golden eyes waiting for him.

“You.” Bill leaned in and gently kissed the boy. 

Dipper froze in place. This wasn’t really happening. There was absolutely no way this was happening. Any minute now he would wake up and this would all be a dream. Warm lips ghosted on his gently, and his jaw clenched. He felt the sudden crack in his mouth as the plastic fangs broke, piercing his gums. He winced backward, opening his mouth as the taste of copper filled his mouth. Bill looked unamused as Dipper ripped the plastic fangs out of his mouth, covered in blood. 

“I swear you’re always getting hurt, Pine-Tree. Jeez, just calm down for once.” Bill’s voice leaked of annoyance as he placed his fingers along Dipper’s jaw gently. The taste of copper suddenly disappeared, and his mouth no longer ached from pain. Dipper sat there in shock. Bill had healing powers? Bill had just…had just healed him? 

Wait…Bill just kissed him.

Bill…kissed…him…

“Why’d you kiss me, you isosceles nightmare?!” Dipper shouted suddenly, shoving Bill away as he quickly jumped to his feet. 

Bill chuckled which quickly turned in to a hearty laugh. Bill began floating in the air then, his legs bent at the knee as he laughed. 

“Wow, kid! You really are something!” Bill managed through his laughter. 

“Why are you laughing?!” Dipper yelled, anger boiling inside him as the stress from the demon’s appearance finally sunk in.

“Yeesh, Pine-Tree calm down. It was just a test.” Bill held his hands up in defense, his side smirk growing the redder Dipper’s face grew. 

“A test?! For what?!” Dipper threw his hands in the air, as it all sunk it. That was his SECOND kiss he’d ever had. The first with some merman that Mabel had been in love with, and now…now with a dream demon who had tried to kill them in the past! This was ridiculous! He had to be hallucinating!

“For this, kid.” Bill snapped his fingers and suddenly he was holding Dipper, leaning in close and kissing him more forcibly than the first time. He could feel the magic flow from Bill to him, and it resonated throughout the entire room. His brain was short-wiring, his muscles relaxed and his heart never stopped pounding in his chest. He felt his face heat up and he could already tell his entire face was bright red. For the millionth time that day, Dipper couldn’t think straight. He suddenly felt dizzy and he put his hand to his side to hold him steady. 

A sudden knock on the door made Dipper jump, realization hitting him hard. He threw Bill off him, ignoring his head protesting the sudden movements. He rose to his feet, unsteadily taking steps and tackling the door. It flew open and Dipper fell to the floor, shoulder aching as he slowly lifted himself to see Mabel standing there with a look of pure shock.

“Dipper!” Mabel looked down at her brother, worry plain on her face.

Bill laughed heartily, and Mabel’s eyes widened in fear as she looked from her brother to the human Bill Cipher in front of her. Her stomach dropped and her face went pale.

“I-It can’t be…” Mabel watched the taller man smirk.

“Long time, no see, Shooting Star!” 

“You can’t-there’s no way!” Mabel, still holding Dipper, backed away from the room. 

“Ah, but there is! If you’d only listened to your brother, huh?” Bill twirled his cane with a smug smile. 

“Well, as much as I love reunions, it looks like it’s time for me to get going. See ya soon, Pine Tree, Shooting Star!” Bill snapped his fingers and suddenly disappeared. 

Mabel’s breathing became ragged. She slumped to the floor by her brother, fear and shock overcoming her figure. Dipper held the same anxiety, finally looking to his sister with a look of fear.

“Bill Cipher…is back.” Mabel finally got out. 

“Mabel, I have to tell you something.” Dipper put his hands on his twin’s shoulders, forcing her to look at him. 

“I don’t know why, but he’s been targeting me lately. He just-he said he’s claiming me for something. I don’t know for what or why, but I think we might be in trouble!” Dipper clenched his jaw when he finished, watching Mabel go from shock to guilt.

“I should’ve listened to you, Dipper.” She frowned. 

Dipper shook his head and gave her a reassuring squeeze. He stood up, still feeling a little…queasy. Mabel asked for details, and he knew he couldn’t divulge details in a party setting. Mabel agreed, holding her brother’s hand in her own and bolting down the stairs to find Waddles. The trio quickly ran to the car and drove home, panic rising in Mabel the darker the night had become. 

“Should we try calling Grunkle Ford? Maybe he would know?” Mabel frowned as they sat in Dipper’s room. 

“I-I don’t know Mabel.” Dipper rubbed his arm nervously.

“Dipper, what happened? Between you and Bill? In the dream and the mall? And…in that room before I came?” Mabel watched her brother blush.

“I-I don’t…it’s hard to explain.”

Mabel started nibbling on her lower lip. She felt guilty for not listening to her brother. But it’d been years since even the mention of Bill’s name. They’d all pretended that it never even happened. And yet here Bill was, in a human form, magic and all, harassing her twin brother. It didn’t make any sense. They had defeated him, once and for all. He should be dead! They almost lost Stan because of him. 

‘He’s claiming me for something’ 

The words repeated in Mabel’s head. Claiming her brother for what? She didn’t know a lot about dream demons, or of Bill Cipher for that matter, but she did her best to remember everything that had happened that fateful summer. It ran through her head as she hugged her knees to her torso. Dipper stared at the floor, looking as if he was thinking of something himself. 

The only person that knew Bill Cipher more than Dipper was Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan. Mabel looked at the time and realized it wasn’t too late. Plus, she knew Ford never slept. The news, however…it would be a lot for Ford to take on over the phone. 

“Dipper.” 

Dipper turned to look at Mabel and stiffened when he saw what was in her eyes.

“We need to go back to Gravity Falls.”


End file.
